examine critically in order to understand; measure depth (bysounding). Try as he would. Watson could never fully plumb the depths of Holmes's thought processes.

plumage

feathers of a bird. Bird watchers identify different species of birds by their characteristic songs and distinctive plumage

pluck

courage. Even the adversaires of young Indiana Jones were impressed by the boy's pluck in trying to rescue the archeological treasure they had stolen.

plight

condition,state. (especially a bad state or condition); prdicament. Loggers, unmoved by the plight of the spotted owl, plan to keep on feeling trees whether or not they ruin the bird's habitat.

pliant

flexible; easily influenced. Pinochhio's disposition was pliant; he was like putty in his tempter's hands.

pliable

flexible; yielding; adaptable. In remodeling the bathroom, we replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing

plethora

excess; overabundance. She offered a plethora of excuses for her shortcomings.

plentitude

abundance; completelness. Looking in the pantry, we admired the plentitude of fruits and pickles we had preserved during the summer.

plenary

complete; full. The union leader was given plenary power to negotiate a new contract with the employers.

plebeian

common; pertaining to the common people. His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined.

plausible

having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious. Your mother made you stay home from school because she needed you to program the VCR? I'm sorry, you'll have to come up with a more plausible excuse than that.

plaudit

enthusiastic approval; round of applause. The theatrical company reprinted the plaudits of the critics in its advertisements.

platonic

purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire. Accused of impropriety in his dealings with female students, the professor maintained he had only a platonic interest in the women involved.

platitude

trite remark; commonplace statement. In giving advice to his son, old Polonius expressed himself only in platitudes; every word out of his mouth was a truism.

steal another's ideas and pass them off as ones own. The teacher could tell that the student had plagiarized parts of his essay she recognized whole paragraphs straights from Barron's Book NOtes.

placid

peaceful; calm. After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested

placebo

harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill. In a controlled experiment, fifty volunteers were given erthromycin tablets; the control group received only placebos

placate

pacify; soothe, conciliate. The store manager tried to placate the angry customer, offering to replace the damnaged merchandise or to give back her money.

pivotal

central; critical. De Keperk's decision to set Nelson Mandela free was pivotal; without Mandela's release, there was no possibility that the Arican National Congress would entertain talks wiht the south African government